Manufacture of fur or felt hats



Patented May 5, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 22 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of fur or felt hats.

According to conventional practices, the manufacture of fur or felt hatsis carried on in two main groups of steps, the first group of stepsbeing practiced in that part of a factory or plant known as the backshop and the second group of steps being practiced in a plantsubdivision known as the front shop. The back shop operations consistgenerally in the steps of forming the hat bat, felting and shrinking thesame, coloring the resulting body, stretching and blocking the body intoa rough shape simulating the finished article, and the pouncing of therough blocked body. To outline the steps more specifically, fur fibers,which have been suitably prepared for felting as by treatment with acarroting composition or solution, are deposited on a forming cone in awet or moist condition to form thereon, what is known as the hat bat.Thereupon, the bat is hardened as by immersion in scalding water andgentle manipulation, whereby the bat is felted sufliciently to render itstrong enough to withstand handling during subsequent operations. Thenthe bat is sized; that is, it is manipulated in such manner that the furiibres are interlocked and felted to a high degree, and simultaneouslyshrunk to desired size, the resulting structure being kno-wn as a hatbody which still retains the conical shape of the bat.

The sizing operation is usually effected in two steps. or treatments.According to the practice of hand sizing, a number of the hardened bats,o disposed one on another, are rolled in a sizing cloth and the roll issuitably saturated and rolled by hand under varying pressures. Thistreatment is one of preliminary sizing. Final sizing consists of a moresevere manipulation, and usually this operation involves the rolling ofthe partially shrunk bats into a roll formation and causing theVresulting roll to be rotated between the cleated rolls of a sizingmachine with increasing pressure and application of scalding water untilthe bats have been completely felted and shrunk to iinal size.

In the practice of sizing by machine, the bats are given the first orpreliminary sizing in the A machine, of the character generallydisclosed in United States Letters Patents 1,533,349-50, dated April 14,1925, and 1,535,324-8, dated April 28, 1925, which functions to effectfirst or preliminary felting and shrinking of the bat to 'about 5 inchesof nal size. The second or iinal sizing treatment is then given to thebats coming from the A machine on what is known as the B machine, suchvas generally disclosed in Patents 1,586,551, dated June 1, 1926, and1,620,957, dated March 15, 1'927. The B machines effect a more severeworking of the bat and further felt and shrink the bat to its desiredbody size.

The iinally felted and fully shrunk body is next colored as by dyeing.Then the shape of the body is changed by suitable operations from a coneto a structure khaving a crown and brim as by conventional stretchingand blocking apparatus. The blocked body is next pounced; that is, thebody is engaged by abrasive surfaces, generally constituted by sheets orstrips of Vsand paper or the like suitably arranged on supports formingpads, rolls or the like. This pouncing treatment cuts away the roughouter surface of the felted body and the resulting pounced body is oneof even texture and uniform surface throughout.

It will be understood that both the inner and outer surfaces of thecrown and the under and upper surfaces of the brim are subjected to thepouncing treatment. By reason of the shape of the blocked hat, separatemachines or separate operations on a, single machine are utilized forthe crown 'pouncing and for the brim pouncing operations, respectively,with the shape of the hat further tending to diiiiculty in manipulatingthe hat as it is pounced, and the reversal of the body as is 'requiredtoy pounce the inside of the crown, further increasing the amount ofhandling of the body necessary in the pouncing operation. From theforegoing it will be apparent that the pouncing operation as at presentcarried out is not only one that requires a great deal of skill in itspractice, but is further one that is unduly expensive by reason of themany operations involved.

The blocked and pounced hat, known to the trade as a rough hat, nowleaves the back shop and is sent to the front shop where the iinishing,trimming, and hanging operations are practiced. Such operations maycomprise generally the mounting of the rough blocked hat on a crownblock of nal size and shape as by means of a dry blocking machine vor bya hand blocking operation, with suitable steam treatment. The hat .isthen subjected to the expensive hand iinishing operation, whichoperation involves surface treatment with ne sand paper or the like andthe application of heated irons or pads and gives to the outer surfaceof the crown and the under and upper surface of the brim a limited sheenor lustre characteristic of fa newly purchased hat.

'Ihe hat is now stripped from the block and receives the trimmingoperations, which may include the sewing on of the brim edge binding ifthe hat is to have a bound edge, and the application of the outer band,the inner crown lining, and the sweat leather. Finally, the brim isflanged, that is, it is set to its final shape or character inconventional fianging apparatus and thereupon ironed for surface lustre.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the manufacture of hats inaccordance with conventional practice includes various operations whichso severely work the bats and hat bodies in their Aseveral stages offabrication as to impair the felt texture thereof and destroy to someextent at least the highly desirable properties of firmness andelasticity in the felt. Thus hats made by the aforesaid practice do notretain their shape over substantial periods of time and are subject tomarring and creasing when the hat is distorted for one'reason oranother. It will beV further understood that the manufacture of hats bythe known practice as aforesaid is in general laborious and expensiveand is complicated 'further by reason of the fact that the back shopoperations are separate and distinct from the front shop operations,this being due primarily to the requirement and maintenance of afinishing room to carry on'the major front shop finishing operation. Infact, the line of separation between the front and back shop operationsis so well defined that in many hat manufacturing plants the back shopis physically segregated, if not entirely separated from the front shopand has resulted in many cases in the manufacturer, faced with theexpense of maintaining what amounts to two separate establishments,electing to carry on only back shop operations to the exclusion of frontshop operations, or vice versa. Although the manufacturers overhead isdecreased by the latter arrangement, nevertheless the ultimate price ofthe finished hat to the purchaser is in nowise reduced, as the retailprice of the hat must be such as to cover the operation and maintenanceof the expensive back shop and front shop operations and practices.

Accordingly, among the objects of the present invention may be noted theprovision of a simplified method of hat manufacture which is practicaland economical; the provision of a method of hat manufacture whichinvolves a novel sequence of operations; the provision of a method ofhat manufacture which eliminates the conventional hand finishingoperation; the provision of a method of hat manufacture which does awaywith the necessity f separate establishments, or separate sections ordivisions of one establishment Y in carrying out the requisite steps offabricating hats; the provision of a method of hat manufacture whichsubstantially reduces production costs; the provision of a method ofmanufacturing hats by the practice of which an article of improvedappearance, texture, and shape-retaining properties is obtained; theprovision of felt or fur hats of attractive appearance, which may befabricated without the necessity of practicing thereon the conventionalfinishing operation; and the provision of felt or fur hats havingimproved appearance; texture, and shape-retaining properties.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part hereinafter'pointedout in connection with the following analysis of this invention, whereinis described and illustrated one preferred mode of carrying out'thepresent invention, together with possibleV modifications-thereof.

Referring to the drawing, the figure represents schematically the chainof operations involved in the method of hat manufacture forming thesubject-matter of the present invention.

In the practice of the invention I first form a hat bat by conventionalapparatus, such comprising generally a perforated cone mounted within anenclosure to which suitably treated fur is blown. Suction pressurethrough the cone causes the deposition of the fur fibers on the coneand, by the application of moisture such as steam or water, the furfibers form on the cone a matted structure of cone-shape, with the furfibers being loosely interlocked. While the forming operation isconventional, I propose to form the bat so that the tip portion thereofis relatively light, with the bat being heavier towards its brim orskirt portion. Such may be accomplished by increasing the size of theperforations of the cone, and/or the number of such perforations,towards its bottom portion whereby more fur fibers are deposited on thebrim area or zone than on the upper or tip portion. 'I'hus the portionof the bat which later becomes the hat brim is formed extra heavy. Theforming operation is indicated on the;

chain drawing by the legend Bat forming.

The cone and bat formed thereon are now removed from the enclosure ofthe forming machine and the bat is stripped from the cone and suitablyhardened by the conventional hardening steps as described in theforegoing and represented on the schematic chain by the legendHardening.

Thereupon a plurality of the hat bats so formed and hardened are wetdown in such manner that the brim and/or general edge portion of thebat, which portion was formed extra heavy, is tightened or shrunk. Thewetting down operation as practiced in accordance with the hereindescribed method is of such nature that the brim edge portionparticularly of the bat is shrunk, it ybeing understood that such may beaccomplished by immersion of the brim portion of the hat in scaldingwater and gently rolling or working the same. This treatment is designedto give additional strength to the heavy portion of the bat by effectinga degree of felting of the fur fibers thereof, and at the same time actsto -x the edge fibers of the bat in such manner that they may eventuallyform the final or finished edge of the hat. The aforesaid wettingdownstep is indicated on the schematic chain drawing by the legendWetting down.

The bat is then subjected to treatment on the conventional A machine andgiven regular work thereon. As will be understood this treatment is inthe nature of a gentle kneading manipulation of the hat bats, causingthe fur fibers thereof to be interlocked and felted and at the same timeshrinking the bats down to about inches of their final size. Thetreatment given to the bats on the A machine is one of first orpreliminary sizing, and such step is indicated on the schematic chain bythe legend A machine treatment.

Thereupon, when colored hats are desired, the partially felted andshrunken bats coming from the A machine are colored as by immersion ofthe bats in dyeing vats, and are thereafter suitably dried. I find thatcoloring at this stage is advantageous, as the dye is better taken up bythe partially felted and shrunken bat and subsequent and final sizingsteps or operationsv act to fix the color in and throughout the feltedfibers of the bat. The coloring step is indicated on the schematic chaindrawing by the legend Coloring.

Thereupon the colored bats are subjected to the treatment of the Bmachine and given regular Work thereon, it being understood that the Bmachine kneads and manipulates the bats so as to further felt the furfibers thereof and also to shrink the bat. This step is indicated on thechain by the legend B machine treatment, and this operation is carriedon sufficiently as to shrink the bat to within two inches (approximate)of its nished size.

The hat bat is now hand-sized by a regular sizing process, suchcgmprising the alternate immersion of the bat into scalding water andthe application of rolling pressure thereto. The aforesaid sizingoperation further felts the fur fibers of the bat and brings the hatdown close to final body size and specifically to within about ahalf-inch of the final size. This sizing step is indicated on the chainby the legend First hand sizing. The slightly over-size hat body is thendried by the conventional methods to remove the moisture containedtherein as the result of its immersion treatment.

The dried, slightly over-size body is next brushed, as with a wire brushor equivalent means which functions to raise and lay the surface bers ina uniform direction, as a preliminary to a shaving operation, and thehat bodies, while in their cone shape, are next shaved by conventionalhat shaving apparatus of the general type as disclosed in United StatesLetters Patent 982,926, dated January 31, 1911, such comprising rotatingknives which cut away the loose projecting fur fibers of the hatsurface. The brushing and shaving steps, being directly related andcomplemental steps, are indicated on the chain by the legend Firstshaving.

The shaved body, slightly over-size, is thereupon returned to the handsizer and given further work, as by further immersion in scalding waterand application of rolling pressure, until the body is shrunk to itsexact final size. Such step is indicated on the chain as Second handsizing,

The hat is again dried to remove the moisture contained therein as aresult of the final sizing operation and is again subjected to thebrushing and shaving operation similar to the first brushing and shavingoperation. This step is indicated on the chain by the legend Secondshaving.

It will be understood that the hat body at this stage of its fabricationstill retains its conical formation and, by reason of the Variousshrinking and felting operations, is of final desired size and is feltedto a high degree. Further, by reason of the brushing and shavingoperations practiced both before and after final sizing, all of theloose, protruding fur fibres have been cut away, and such bers as formthe surface of the conical body are of a uniform length and closelyclipped or shaved. In view of the foregoing, it will further be evidentthat the hat body so formed possesses its original raw edge resultingfrom the forming step, such edge being gradually worked up during thefelting operations until it is substantially rounded, with the feltingsteps tending to protect the edge fro breaking down. v

'I'he conical, sized body is now placed on a rotating conical spindle,and the relatively heavy skirt portion of the body, which later becomesthe brim, is subjected to abrasive action as by engagement withthe sandpaper pads, rolls, or the like. This spindling treatment is given toboth inner and outer surfaces of the hat and serves to smooth still morethe surface of the brim portion of the hat. The resulting brim structureis one of even texture and, by reason of its extra weight, possesses ahigh degree of strength and shape-retaining properties. The aforesaidbrim treating operation has an eect somewhat similar to that obtained bythe conventional brim pouncing operation and is indicated on the chainby the legend Spindling, although it will be understood that thisoperation not only pounces but serves to smooth the surface of the brim.

The hat body is now ready for the stretching and blocking operations andthe tip is next stretched by a conventional tip stretching machine whichmay be of the type shown in United States Letters Patent 1,902,516,dated March 31, 1933. This latter step is indicated on the chain by thelegend Tip stretching. The brim of the hat is now stretched, preferablyon a brim stretching machine such as is used in stretching the brirns ofwool hats and in such manner as to protect the brim edge from breaking,marririg, or the like. Such brim stretching machine preferably embodiessets of rollers, of which the rollers of one set rotate at a higher ratethan those of the other, whereby to tension a hat brim passingtherebetween, as generally disclosed in United States Letters Patent1,013,321, dated January 2, 1912. This operation is indicated on thechain drawing by the legend Brim stretching.

The stretched hat body is next taken to and blocked on the blockingmachine of the kind utilizing an individual block for each hat of theultimate size that the hat is to possess, such as 'Y1/8, 'l1/4, etc.Such a blocking machine is preferably also of the character as toprotect the brim edge, and in this respect may embody features asgenerally disclosed in United States Letters Patent 1,907,556, dated May9, 1933; and is further of the character as to set or impart a ange tothe brim. It will be understood, therefore, that the blocking operationaforesaid blocks the crown to final or substantially final head size andsets the brim, while at the same time protecting the brim edge of thehat body. This operation is indicated on the chain by the legendBlocking and brim setting.

The blocked hat is next dried to remove the moisture taken up by itduring the stretching and blocking operations and thereupon the crcwn ispounced in the usual manner. This crown pouncing step functions to cutdown slightly the crown, removes the surface bers thereof, and gives thecrown a soft uniform surface and texture as is understood. This step isdesignated on the chain by the legend Crown pouncing.

The blocked body resulting from the practice of the foregoing steps maybe termed a rough hat and is now ready for the nal steps of treatmentwhich formerly, according to the old method, consisted of finishing andflanging, etc. By my improved method, I modify the conventionalpractices in such manner as to simplify and' render less costly thefinal treatment of the hat usually carried on in the front shop.According to my mode of manufacture, tne blocked hat following the crownpouncing operation as aforesaid is fhand blocked in the usual manner,that is, the hat is forced over an individual block according to size,whereby to straighten out the crown preparatory to ironing, it beingunderstood that the hat is blocked to final size by the wet blockingoperation aforesaid. Such operation is designated on t-he chain drawingby the legend Hand blocking, the operation being one well known in theart.

The crown of the so blocked hat is now ironed on a crown ironingmachine, which may advantageously be of the character disclosed inUnited States Lettersv Patent 1,944,655, dated January 23, 1934. Thisoperation, as is Well known, smooths the surface of the crown andimparts thereto a limited lustre or sheen. Such operation is designatedby the legend Crown ironing on the chain drawing.

The so treated hat is now removed from its block and is pressed inindividual molds of a hydraulic press, which may be of the Cuming type,the principles of which are generally disclosed in United States LettersPatent 1,037,841, dated September 3, 1912. In the aforesaid press, thehat is subjected to about 200 lbs. steam pressure, such pressure servingboth to set the crown and brim to a shape and character determined bythe mold cavity, the latter without ironing, and also to keep the hatsoft and mellow. The foregoing final step of my modified finishingtreatment, which is designated on the drawing by the legend Pressingwill bereadily distinguished by those skilled in the art from theconventional finishing practices. The hat is next trimmed as by sewingon the outer band, sweat leather, and tip lining, which latter stepsresult in the hat reaching its final stage of fabrication.

The foregoing method of hat manufacture may be carried on in a plantwhich is truly unitary, as distinguished from the old practice ofsegregating certain operations within a back shop and other operationswithin a front shop. By reference to the above sequence of operationsand the chain illustrative of them, it will be seen that all of thesteps are steps that can be carried on in the back shop or unsubstantialadditions thereto. In the layout of a factory practicing the foregoingmethod, all of the Wet steps may be suitably practiced in one sectionthereof, whereas the operations practiced when the hat is dry, such asthe shaving, pouncing, and pressing operations, may be arranged in arelated section or in a part of the first section protected from steamor water, but not necessarily a physically different part of the plantor factory. It will further be noted that according to the foregoing artof hat manufacture, the costly hand finishing operations and high laborcosts incident thereto are eliminated. Thus it will be apparent that thephysical lay-out of a factory utilizing the foregoing process ismaterially reduced.

I have further found that hats made according to the practice of theforegoing method are characterized by improved shape-holding propertiesand that hats so fabricated maintain their shape indefinitely. Further,hats so manufactured are substantially creaseless regardless of how muchthey are subjected to folding, rough treatment, and the like. I believethat the aforesaid improved properties and characteristics are due tothe fact that the texture of the felt of a hat fabricated as aforesaidis very materially improved, being firmer and more elastic than hatsmade by conventional processes. Further, the raw or uncut edge acts tostrengthen the brim and to maintain the brim in its proper shapeindefinitely. y

It will be understood that while the sequence of steps characteristic ofthe above-outlined art or method of hat manufacture is preferable forthe reasons set forth, the order of steps, and particularly the stepspracticed prior to spindling is not to be regarded as unduly critical.Consequently, I claim a reasonable degree of latitude in the order orsequence of the steps or operations above-outlined, as characteristic ofmy improved method, and all variations of such order or sequence fallingwithin the spirit and intent of the present -disclosure are intended tobe comprehended within the scope of the annexed claims. It will befurther understood that where in the foregoing I have identified bypatent number typical apparatus by which a step or steps of my methodmay be practiced, such is suggestive only of apparatus readily availableon the market, and I do not intend to be limited in any sense to thespecific apparatus so designated.

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthis invention that others can by applying current knowledge readilyadapt it for various applications without omitting certain featuresthat, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacter-v istics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention,and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

l. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the steps of forming the hatbat, partially felting and shrinking the bat, shaving the resulting bat,

and then finally felting and shrinking the bat.

2. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the steps of forming the hatbat, partially felting and shrinking the bat, shaving the resulting bat,finally felting and shrinking the bat, and again shaving the finallyfelted and shrunken bat.

3. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the steps of forming a hatbat, partially feltingv and shrinking the hat bat, coloring thepartially felted and shrunken bat, shaving the colored bat, and thenfinally felting and shrinking the bat.

4. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the steps of forming a hatbat, partially felting and shrinking the bat, coloring the resultingbat, shaving the colored bat, finally feltingand shrinking the bat, andagain shaving the finally felted and shrunken bat.

5. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includes thesteps of forming the hat bat in such manner that its lower skirt portionwhich ultimately forms the brim is heavier than its tip portion, feltingand shrinking the bat to final body size, spindling the skirt portion ofthe body prior to blocking, and thereupon blocking the body.

6. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includes thesteps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirt portionwhich ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, shaving the partiallyfelted and shrunken bat, finally felting and shrinking the bat to finalbody size, spindling the skirt portion of the body prior to blocking,and thereupon blocking the so treated body.

7. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includes thesteps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirt portionwhich ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, shaving the partiallyfelted and shrunken bat, finally felting and shrinking the bat to finalbody size, again shaving the resulting body, spindling the skirt portionof the body prior to blocking, and thereupon blocking the so treatedbody.

8. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includes thesteps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirt portionwhich ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, coloring thepartially felted and shrunken bat, shaving the colored bat, finallyfelting and shrinking th-e colored and shaven bat to final body size,spindling the skirt portion of the body prior to blocking, and thereuponblocking the so treated body.

9. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includes thesteps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirt portionwhich ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, coloring thepartially felted and shrunken bat, shaving the colored bat, finallyfelting and shrinking the colored and shaven bat to final body size,again shaving the resulting body, spindling the skirt portion of thebody prior to blocking, and thereupon blocking the so treated body.

10. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming the hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,felting and shrinking the bat to nal body size, spindling the skirtportion of the body prior to blocking, thereupon blocking the body, andcrown pouncing the blocked body.

11. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brimis heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, shaving the partiallyfelted and shrunken bat, finally felting and shrinking the bat to finalbody size, spindling the skirt portion of the body prior to blocking,thereupon blocking the so treated body, and crown pouncing the blockedbody.

12. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, shaving the partially'felted and shrunken bat, finally felting and shrinking the bat to finalbody size, again shaving the resulting body, spindling the skirt portionof the body prior to blocking, thereupon blocking the so treated body,and crown pouncing the blocked body.

13. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, coloring thepartially felted and shrunken bat, shaving the colored bat, finallyfelting and shrinking the colored and shaven bat to final body size,spindling the skirt portion of the body prior to blocking, thereuponblocking the so treated body, and crown pouncing the blocked body.

14. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat so formed, coloring thepartially felted and shrunken bat, shaving the colored bat, finallyfelting and shrinking the colored and shaven bat to iinal body size,again shaving the resulting body, spindling the skirt portion of thebody prior to blocking, thereupon blocking the so treated body, andcrown pouncing the blocked body.

15. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the

method which includes the steps of forming aV hat bat in such mannerthat its skirt portion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier thanits tip portion, partially felting and shrinking the bat, coloring thepartially felted and shrunken bat, shaving the colored bat, finallyfelting and shrinking the colored and shaven bat to iinal body size,spindling the relatively heavy brim portion of the body, blocking the sotreated body, pouncing the crown of the blocked body, ironing the crownof the blocked body, and finally pressure molding the so treated bodywhereby to set the crown and brim thereof.

16. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than its tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat, shaving the resulting bat,finally felting and shrinking the shaved bat to final body size, againshaving the resulting body, spindling the relatively heavy brim portionof the body, blocking the so treated body, pouncing the crown of theblocked body, ironing the crown of the blocked body, and finallypressure molding the so treated body whereby to set the crown and brimthereof.

17. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming a hat bat in such manner that is lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than its tip portion,partially felting and shrinking the bat, coloring the partially feltedand shrunken bat, shaving the resulting bat, finally felting andshrinking the shaven bat to final body size, again shaving the resultingbody, spindling the relatively heavy brim portion of the body, blockingthe so treated body, pouncing the crown of the blocked body, ironing thecrown of the blocked body, and finally pressure molding the so treatedbody whereby to `set the crown and brim thereof.

18. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe steps of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,working the edge portion of the bat to fix the edge fibers thereof,machine sizing the bat down to about i'ive inches of its final bodysize, thereupon coloring the resulting bat, machine sizing the coloredbat down to about two inches of its final size, thereupon handsizing thebat down to slightly in excess of its final body size, shaving theslightly oversize bat, again hand-sizing the bat to final body size,again shaving the resulting body, spindling the relatively heavy brimportion of the body, stretching the so treated body, blocking thestretched body, pouncing the crown of the blocked body, ironing thecrown of the blocked body, and finally pressure molding the so treatedbody whereby to set the crown and brim thereof.

19. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the steps which compriseforming a hat bat, Working the edge portion of the bat whereby to x thefibers thereof, partially felting and shrinking the bat to substantiallyover nal body size,-

thereupon coloring the resulting bat, further felting and shrinking thebat down to slightly in excess of final body size, shaving the resultingbat, and thereupon finally felting and shrinking the bat to nal bodysize.

20. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the steps which compriseforming a hat bat, working the edge portion of the bat whereby to fixthe bers thereof, machine sizing the bat to about ve inches of its iinalbody size, thereupon coloring the resulting bat, machine sizing thecolored bat Vto about two inches of its nal body size, thereuponhand-sizing the bat to slightly in excess of its final body size,thereupon shaving the slightly oversize bat, and again hand-sizing thebat-to nal body size.

21. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method which includesthe step of forming a hat bat in such manner that its lower skirtportion which ultimately forms the brim is heavier than the tip portion,working the edge portion of the bat to x the edge fibers thereof,partially felt'- ing and shrinking the bat to a size in excess of itsnal body size, shaving the over-size bat, finally felting and shrinkingthe bat to final body size, again shaving the resulting body, spindlingthe relatively heavy brim portion of the body, stretching the so treatedbody, blocking the stretched body, pouncing the crown of the blockedbody, ironing the crown of the blocked body, and ilnally pressuremolding the so treated body whereby to set the crown and brim thereof.

22. In the manufacture of fur or felt hats, the method of finishing arough 'hat blocked'to nal size which consists solely in the steps ofmounting the hat on a block of final size whereby to straighten thecrown thereof, ironing the crown only of the hat, removing the hat fromthe block, and nally pressure molding the so treated hat whereby to setthe crown and brim thereof.

FRANK H. LEE.

